LEGACY: 50 Years of Dance on the Edge celebrates work of Maida Withers

LEGACY: 50 Years Dance on the Edge, presents an exhibition of visionary works by Maida Withers, celebrated choreographer and dancer, in a visual retrospective that premieres an immersive installation with guerilla artist/political projectionist Robin Bell. LEGACY: 50 Years unfolds throughout the atrium galleries of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, Washington, DC, drawing viewers into the bold, witty, and sometimes weighty world of Withers’ dance. From September 23 to December 10, LEGACY merges dance films and archival recordings to envelope viewers in five decades of dance on the edge.

Since 1974, Maida Withers and the Dance Construction Company have championed dance as a vessel for multimedia interaction, and technological experimentation. All performances feature live music created for the dances. LEGACY continues her boundary-breaking work by “bringing dance into the visual exhibition sphere,” says Lauren Onkey, Director of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design.

In the exhibition, a broad selection of historical works, videos and films celebrate a remarkable half century of the work by Maida Withers and the Dance Construction Company. Maida has been called “our prime evangelist of the novel and strange byways of dance, a tireless advocate of causes…and a human juggernaut in the force of her wit, stamina, and intelligence.” Alan M. Kriegsman, Washington Post.

Maida Withers – LEGACY explores how images from the past create new contextual meaning when the past becomes the future, a journey into the mind of an experimental dance artist emboldened by technology. LEGACY explores and supports the transformation of consciousness through the arts.

“We are looking forward to bringing LEGACY to life at the Corcoran. LEGACY highlights combining Maida and the Dance Construction Company’s extensive archive and my projection work. We are creating a new piece that explores the intersection of dance, visual art and social action,” says Robin Bell.

At the center of Maida’s history is her fierce commitment to the kinetic body, activism, and collaboration. Alongside the visual archives, collaborators include Brazilian computer artist Tania Fraga; Ukrainian dancer/choreographer Anton Ovchinnikov; electronic composers and musicians John Driscoll, Steve Hilmy, Yoko Sen; performance poet, Alex Caldiero; and others who are featured in the exhibition with live performances taking place at the opening night (September 23) and Celebration Weekend events (October 7/8, 2022).

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